diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/mecab-python3/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/mecab-python3/default.nix
index 1a2cce8f110..b961d56f825 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/mecab-python3/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/mecab-python3/default.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 { lib
 , buildPythonPackage
-, mecab
 , fetchPypi
+, mecab
+, swig
 }:
 
 buildPythonPackage rec {
@@ -13,7 +14,12 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     sha256 = "5aca4d0d196161e41452b89921042c0e61a6b7e7e9373211c0c1c50d1809055d";
   };
 
-  propagatedBuildInputs = [ mecab ];
+  nativeBuildInputs = [
+    mecab # for mecab-config
+    swig
+  ];
+
+  buildInputs = [ mecab ];
 
   meta = with lib; {
     description = "A python wrapper for mecab: Morphological Analysis engine";